Activities such as walking, hiking, running, golfing and water sports are typically associated with specialized footwear. For example, conventional running and walking shoes may have cushioned and flexible soles to absorb shock while hiking shoes may have stiffer soles to protect against sharp rocks and other objects encountered on a trail. However, sometimes hikers who wish to have the comfort of running shoes have little choices available. Sometimes, hikers would forego comfort because a rugged sole is typically needed in tough terrain to prevent injury. Moreover, running shoes are usually not suitable for hiking because they lack ruggedness. Therefore, there is a need to provide a shoe that can be altered so that it may be used in different situations, where such a shoe may alleviate the need to have multiple shoes.
In addition, the foot often exudes perspiration, as well as odors, in varying degrees, depending upon such factors as temperature of the surroundings, the amount of physical activity being performed, and the natural propensity of the particular person to perspire. The comfort and health of the foot is normally influenced by the rate of evaporation of the perspiration generated as a result of movement and/or physical exercise. Moreover, it is common for any type of shoe to develop malodorous characteristics with use.
Some shoes employ the use of replaceable footbeds, where a worn or odorous footbed may be replaced with a new one. Although this appears to alleviate the problem, the user typically needs to change footbeds in quick fashion in order to continue to enjoy a comfortable shoe. Some methods of reducing the quick turnover in footbeds is to coat the footbeds with an odor resistant or antifungal spray. However, the coating is not believed to have a lasting effect relative to the life of the footbed, in which case the improvement is generally incremental.
To address this, a number of attempts were implemented to provide ventilated footwear to enhance both comfort and to obviate the odors commonly associated with shoes and related footwear. However, foreign objects, water, dirt, and the like may enter the shoe through these ventilation openings. Shoes with pumps or air chambers to vent the inside of the shoe may overcome this disadvantage but such shoes are normally expensive or do not function properly due to complications in the pumps or chambers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,347 to Morishita seems to relate to silver, other metals, and other additives applied to a footbed for killing germs, which may result in reduced odor and bacteria.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,482,333 to Everston, 4,727,661 to Kuhn, 4,967,750 to Cherniak, 5,961,544 to Goldman, 5,060,400 to Finn, 7,055,265 to Bathum, and 6,321,464 to Oberg patents appear to each relate to a removable footbed, where the footbed can be attached via snaps, buttons, hook and loop fasteners, and the like. Replacing footbeds typically reduce odor and bacteria. Finn further appears to disclose replacing one footbed with another footbed when the former becomes worn. Goldman also seems to relate to a grooved sole that locks the footbed in place. Bathum seems to further relate to a set of interchangeable footbeds where each insole is designed for a different activity.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,068 to Biasi patent often relates to a combination removable footbed with odor and/or antifungal additives.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,137 to Celia typically relates to a set of interchangeable footbeds where each footbed is different from a next footbed, and where each footbed is removably secured in the shoe via hook and loop fasteners. Celia also generally discloses additives that are added to the footbed, such as bactericides, absorptive fillers, fibrous materials, surfactants, odor absorbents, pH buffers, rubber particles, and thermal phase change particles.
However, none of these references effectively applies the additives over large parts of the interior for enhanced odor absorption and bacteria reduction, and where odor absorption and bacteria reduction are further improved by replaceable parts of the interior.
What is desired, therefore, is a shoe with a replaceable part. Another desire is where the replaceable part can be interchanged with a different replaceable part for varying comfort, odor absorption, moisture absorption, and the like. A further desire is a shoe with improved comfort, odor absorption, and moisture absorption throughout the interior of the shoe.